New Report from the Rockefeller Institute’s Center for Law & Policy Solutions Outlines How New York Can Protect Reproductive Health beyond
Roe v. Wade

Full Video of Report Presentation Now Available

Albany, NY — A new report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Center for Law & Policy Solutions examines access to reproductive health services in New York State to help policymakers and the public better understand what’s at stake in the current controversy over abortion rights, and outlines the steps New York could take to protect reproductive health on its own.

The report analyzes changes to the law since Roe v. Wade was decided, discusses their implications for women’s access to abortion, and highlights policy issues that should be addressed in New York. In order to protect and improve reproductive health in the state, the authors recommend:

1. Enacting legislation to protect and enhance access to reproductive health services.
2. Helping people connect to services.
3. Engaging young people about reproductive health services, including comprehensive sex education.
4. Tailoring service delivery to the needs of immigrant populations.
5. Implementing statewide pregnancy center disclosure requirements.

“Given the uncertainty at the national level, this is a critical issue for state policymakers and for members of the public who would be most affected by changes to existing federal reproductive rights law,” said Rockefeller Institute President Jim Malatras. “The fall 2018 research interns and CLPS Executive Director Katie Zuber did an outstanding job researching and clarifying how these laws play out in New York, and how the state can do better.”

“With the future of federal protections for abortion rights uncertain, it’s increasingly important to understand how state laws affect women’s reproductive health,” said CLPS Executive Director Katie Zuber. “Although abortion in New York won’t suddenly be illegal if Roe v. Wade is overturned, there would be many challenges and important issues that need to be addressed. This report, the result of a semester of in-depth research by the CLPS research interns, clearly identifies those problems and outlines a way forward.”

This is the second report from the Center for Law & Policy Solutions, a collaborative effort to examine how ordinary people and communities are affected by decisions of law and policy. It was written by Florencia Feleder, Katie Gowing, Kaidy Mendez, Vannessa Taylor, and Megan Weis, all undergraduate research interns from the University at Albany, working closely with policy experts at the Rockefeller Institute. The first CLPS report, released in May 2018, focused on the effectiveness of New York’s drug treatment courts in the context of the opioid crisis.

Special thanks to the Center for Law & Policy Solutions Advisory Committee for assisting in choosing the research topic:

Aviva Abramovsky, dean, University at Buffalo School of Law
Andrew Ayers, director, Government Law Center of Albany Law School
Joseph Belluck, member of the SUNY Board of Trustees, founding partner of Belluck & Fox law firm
Scott Fein, chair of the Advisory Board of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School
Matt Ingram, associate professor of political science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany
Patricia Strach, director for policy and research at the Rockefeller Institute of Government
Timothy Taylor, adjunct faculty at the University at Albany, member of the Government Law Center Advisory Board

Read the report and watch the video.